BOSTON - Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order against Mauricio B. Meyer of Marlborough, and his company Tyrex Construction & Remodeling Inc., for providing home improvement contractor services without a registration or license. The complaint, filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Meyer created false documents and adopted the identity of a similarly named contractor who is the owner of a business in Everett. Under the terms of the temporary restraining order, granted by Judge Linda E. Giles, Meyer is prohibited from providing residential contracting services, soliciting or collecting payment from consumers for providing residential contracting services, and from falsely representing that he is a registered or licensed contractor.

"We are pleased with this order, which will prohibit Meyer from performing any residential contracting services in the state," said Attorney General Coakley "Unfortunately, there are always going to be individuals that are going to attempt to manipulate the system and take advantage of consumers. Homeowners should double check with their local building inspector to make sure that proper permits have been pulled for construction work and report any suspicious activity to our office."

According to the complaint, Meyer used the Internet to find the registration and license numbers of a contractor who had a name similar to his own, and then created fraudulent home improvement contractor and construction supervisor license cards. The complaint further alleges that Meyer performed unsafe construction work that also violated building code regulations. According to the complaint, Meyer solicited a residential contracting job and applied for a permit application in Sudbury with his fraudulent state credentials. Before obtaining a permit from the Building Inspectors Office, Meyer started working on the project. According to the complaint, the Sudbury Building Inspector discovered the unpermitted construction and confronted Meyer, calling the construction dangerous. The complaint further alleges that Meyer falsely represented himself to the inspector as the licensed home improvement contractor and then continued to solicit business in Sudbury using this false identity.

The Attorney General's Office is also seeking injunctive relief, consumer restitution and the costs of the investigation and prosecution of this case.

A hearing on the Attorney General's motion for a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for March 25, 2010 in Suffolk Superior Court.

Last week, consumer advocates from the Attorney General's Office, the Executive Office of Consumer Affairs, the Better Business Bureau and the United States Postal Service held a press conference to announce each agency's Top Consumer Scams of 2009 in honor of National Consumer Protection Week. The top complaints received by the Executive Office of Consumer Affairs concerned Home Improvement Contractors. Consumers that wish to file a complaint against a home improvement contractor are encouraged to call the Attorney General's Consumer Hotline at 617-727-8400.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Geraldine Aine of Attorney General Coakley's Consumer Protection Division with assistance from Investigator Monique Cascarano.